


Only Love

by upthenorthmountain (aw264641)



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: F/M, Kristanna, Modern AU, Pining, Yearning, all that good stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 00:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14069160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aw264641/pseuds/upthenorthmountain





	1. Anna

For a long time he was just - there, at the periphery. Anna had worked with Jessica a couple of years ago, and they’d stayed friends after she’d left, and now Jessica was engaged to (and living with) Sven, and they liked to socialise and invite people over for parties and dinner and to play board games and watch bad films, so over time their friends became Anna’s friends.

It was weeks before she spoke to him, besides asking him to pass the salt or apologising when she trod on his toe while walking past the sofa. Weeks before they had an actual conversation. But before that, she’d been - aware of him. Felt his gaze on the back of her neck sometimes. Found herself watching his hands when he opened a bottle of beer or moved a game piece. There was something there, something almost magnetic, and the more time she spent near him the stronger it became.

“Is Kris seeing anyone?” she said to Jessica, super-casually, in the kitchen at their Eurovision party.

“Why?” Jessica said. “D’you like him?”

“No, I’m just - making conversation…”

Jessica looked at her, amused, then said. “Yes, sorry, he’s a girlfriend.”

“Who has?” asked Sven, leaning past them to reach the corkscrew.

“Kristoff. Has a girlfriend.”

Sven gave Anna the same look Jessica just had, then said “Oh, yeah, what’s-her-face.”

“You don’t know your best friend’s girlfriend’s name?” Anna said, trying to make a joke to cover her embarrassment.

“Oh, he knows it,” Jessica said, “It’s Maria. He just pretends he doesn’t because he doesn’t like her. It’s very childish,” she added to Sven, who just grinned at her and went back through to the living room.

“Why doesn’t he like her?”

“I don’t know. He thinks she’s a bit of a drama queen. I wouldn’t have thought he was your type,” she continued. “Kris.”

“I’m not saying he is,” Anna said quickly.

“You usually go for the smooth talkers.”

“I guess. Have I met his girlfriend?”

“Possibly not? She doesn’t come here often, she doesn’t like Sven much either. She’s indifferent to me, as far as I know. She’s Italian, long black hair, busty, wings her eyeliner.”

“I wouldn’t have thought that was _his_ type. Kris’s.”

“Well, apparently it is. They’ve been together a couple of years, on and off.”

* * *

 

The next week they went to the pub quiz. Sven, and Jessica, and Anna, and Katie, and Tim, and Kristoff.

“No Maria tonight?” Anna said to him as they sat down, unable to stop herself.

“Not her thing,” was all Kristoff said.

Kristoff turned out to be very well-read. Sven was better at the sports questions, and Anna was good at music, and Jessica knew all the celebrity news; Katie was pretty good at current events, and Tim knew plenty about history, but Kristoff was definitely a reader. He was calmly confident when he knew an answer, and wouldn’t let Sven - who had declared himself Team Captain and commandeered the answer sheet - write for him. Anna had told herself not to sit next to him but instead she had ended up opposite, and couldn’t help constantly catching his eye. Each time he would smile, and she would try not to blush.

He wasn’t even that good-looking! He had okay eyes, and a reasonable smile, but his hair was scruffy and he had a big nose and Jessica was right, normally she liked charming men, men who made an _effort._ Not someone in a plain blue t-shirt and jeans with a hole in the knee - not ripped jeans, jeans with an actual hole - who mainly sat back and listened to everyone else talk.

When he did speak, though, it was always something worth saying.

He touched her shoulder when he asked what she wanted to drink. Because he could do that, he had a girlfriend, so no one would read anything into it, he was just trying to get her attention.

Nevertheless, her heart thrilled to it - _he touched me_ \- and then she felt ridiculous and silly but she couldn’t help it. She was beyond being able to help any of it.

* * *

The next week at the pub quiz Anna was, by some miracle, a few minutes early, and the only other person there was Kristoff, sat at a table by himself with a pint of beer and his phone. Anna almost hesitated to join him, then told herself off and sat down as naturally as she could.

And he said “Oh, hi, Anna,” and they talked, although she was so cherishing the fact that she had him all to herself that later she couldn’t remember what she’d said. And then after a few minutes Sven and Jess arrived, and a couple of other people, and she had to move up, and throughout the evening her knee would occasionally touch Kristoff’s - she didn’t do it on purpose, of course not, but sometimes it would happen. The evening passed far too quickly.

She’d never seen herself as the pining type. If you wanted something, you went and got it. But age had brought with it enough maturity to recognise that sometimes it was worse to rush in. And there were some things you just couldn’t have, anyway, and another’s woman’s man was one of them.

She did finally meet - or at least see - Maria at Jessica’s birthday party. It was a house party, and very well-attended. Anna only managed to say a quick ‘Hi’ to Kristoff as she passed him in the hall, but she saw him many times, always with Maria holding his arm or hanging round his neck or dragging him along by the hand. He seemed happy enough.

 

* * *

It was a couple of weeks later, during an early summer barbecue, that Jessica cornered her.

“So, Anna,” Jessica said. “I was wondering about something. I don’t think I’ve ever known you be single this long before! Is that deliberate? Or have you run out of men?”

“I’m not that bad.”

“No, seriously, is everything okay?”

“Yes! Yes, I guess.” Anna hesitated. “It’s just,” she said. “I like this guy…”

“Oooh, I knew it!”

“...and he has a girlfriend, so.”

“Serious girlfriend?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“Aw, bugger. Bad luck.”

“Exactly.” Anna sighed, then squared her shoulders. “So, either I wait for them to break up then throw myself at him in my usual fashion, or I wait until I’ve got over myself and find someone else to throw myself at. I’ll be fine, it’s just, you know. Not great, at the moment.”

Jessica squeezed her arm sympathetically. “Is it someone I know?” she said.

Anna bit her lip. Jessica smiled. “You know, it’s funny,” she said. “I thought you liked - but he’s single. So it’s not him. Oh! I know what I’m going to do!”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to throw a dinner party and invite all my single friends and pair you all up -”

“ _Jess_ -”

“Oh, just for fun! It’ll be a laugh. Go on, say you will. I’ll find you someone nice.”

“- okay, fine. Whatever.”

* * *

The last person she expected to see at Jessica’s singleton-dinner-party was Kristoff. But there he was, in the kitchen, opening a bottle of wine.

He smiled when he saw her. “Hi, Anna.” She felt herself start to blush, and quickly accepted a glass.

“Hi,” she said. “I thought -”

“Thought what?” He wasn’t looking at her, was lining up clean glasses.

“I thought this was a singles event. You know. Jessica kept talking about how she was pairing up all her friends.”

Kristoff looked confused. “I’m single,” he said. “Did you think I was still with Maria?”

“Um. Yes?”

“Well, I’m not.” He pulled a face. “So I got enlisted, as a spare man, which is very flattering.”

“So you’re - unchaperoned.”

“Mmm.”

“Maybe you’ll get into mischief.”

He smiled at her again then, a warm smile that made her stomach flutter. “Maybe I will.”

 _I thought you liked - but he’s single._ Oh, oh, oh. _Thank you, Jessica._ Suddenly this evening was looking up, very very up.

“Food!” Jessica announced from the dining room. “Everyone come in here - right, Kris, you’re here next to Sue - and Ranj, you’re with Anna - aaaand Alison and Tim over here.” She beamed, pleased with herself, and Anna’s mood evaporated. She wasn’t being set up with Kristoff. She was being set up with this man, who was probably perfectly nice, but she didn’t care, she wanted to stamp her foot and say _but I want_ that _one._

Kristoff was sitting down where he’d been put, and introducing himself to this Sue woman. Anna hesitated, standing in the doorway, until Ranj pulled out her chair and raised his eyebrows at her. Right. Okay. Yes.

* * *

After the meal, Tim offered very swiftly to walk Alison home, and the two of them left together. Everyone else had another drink, then Sue left, then Ranj, and by dint of a certain amount of lingering Anna managed to be left with just her hosts and Kristoff.

“So?” Jessica said cheerfully, as they all sat down with another drink. “How was my matchmaking? Are you going to give her a call, Kris?”

Kristoff sighed. “Jess, she’s a perfectly nice woman but you know I only came to make up the numbers. Because you needed another man and Sven said ‘call Kristoff, he finally gave Maria the heave-ho.’ I’m not looking to start anything new right now.”

“She liked you,” Jessica said.

“And I did not say you’d given M the heave-ho,” Sven added. “I said you’d kicked her to the kerb.”

Kristoff rolled his eyes. “She was perfectly nice but I’m not looking for a girlfriend right now,” he repeated. “Give me a chance to sort my head out.”

“How long ago did you break up?” Anna asked.

“Fortnight or so.”

“That’s ages,” said Sven. “Go on, make Jess feel useful, take her friend out.” Kristoff drank his beer, his jaw set.

“Alison and Tim seemed to hit it off,” Anna said quickly.

“They did,” Jessica said. “So that worked out. How about you and Ranj? What did you think?”

Anna hesitated. “He was…”

“You don’t have to be polite,” Sven said. “He’s a friend of a friend. Tell us what you really think.”

Anna looked at Jessica, who nodded.

“He was - fine,” Anna said. “But there’s a line, you know, between charming and smarmy. And he kept crossing it.”

“Fair enough,” Jess said.

“And he kept mentioning about how he was a doctor and he did a lot of private work, which is code for money, isn’t it,” Anna said. “And he said it a few times, which was a bit - obnoxious.”

Jessica nodded. “Fair enough,” she said again. “You can’t win ‘em all.”

“You let her off pretty easy,” Kristoff complained. Jessica finished her drink.

“Well, I didn’t have high hopes for Anna,” she said. “Because Anna is madly in love with someone, but she won’t tell me _who_.”

Anna froze, her glass halfway to her lips.

“Alright, you’ve had enough,” Sven said, taking Jessica’s glass away. “Sorry, Anna.”

“It’s okay,” Anna muttered. Her whole body felt blazing hot. She could feel Kristoff’s eyes on her, and when she glanced at him - she just couldn’t help herself - he was giving her a long, appraising look.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” Jessica said. “You know what, I’m just going to - check something in the kitchen. Sven, could you help me, please.” She left, and after a second Sven followed her, looking confused.

Anna finished her drink, and put her empty glass down on the coffee table. The _clink_ briefly broke the silence, but then, for once in her life, Anna couldn’t think of anything to say. Her heart was racing.

Kristoff cleared his throat. “Anna,” he said, his voice gentle and low. She looked up at him, and there was something in his eyes that made her shiver; a warmth, a question.

And she didn’t really know what to do with that. All she knew, all she was good at, was acting and pushing through, doing something unequivocal and definite and working out how wise it had been afterwards; and alcohol, of course, helped there.

she stood, and she walked over to him, and she took his glass and put it down on the coffee table, and then she climbed into his lap and said “You and me, then - how about it?”

Kristoff looked at her, looking a little shocked. Anna looked up at him through her eyelashes, and pushed out her chest, and tried to kiss him - but he leant back, then put his hands on her hips - but only to lift her up and set her back down on her feet.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

“What?”

“I don’t think so, Anna.”

She took a step backwards and stumbled against the coffee table. The empty glasses fell over, and at the sound Jessica and Sven came back to the doorway.

“I’m going to go,” Anna said.

“What?”

“I’m going to go,” she repeated. “Home. Thank-you-I-had-a-lovely-evening-” and she quickly gathered her bag and her coat.

“Everything okay? Wait, I’m sure Kris will walk you -”

“I’m fine, it’s not far - bye -” and she was out the door.

Anna was wobblier than she’d expected in her heels, so after a hundred yards she wrenched them off and carried them. She knew her face was bright red and her eyes were stinging with humiliation. Why had she, how had she, oh god. Oh _god_.

“Anna! Anna, wait.” It was Sven, and he was jogging up to her. “You okay? What happened?”

“Nothing - I - I think I’ve had a bit too much to drink. Need to get home…”

She kept walking, and he fell into step beside her.

“If it were a different man we’d left you in the room with I’d worry he’d done something inappropriate,” he said.

Anna squeezed her eyes against tears. “Not that,” she managed to say.

“I know. I mean, if it was, just say, and he’s dead to me.”

“I appreciate it...but no. My fault. Had too much to drink. You didn’t need to come after me.”

Sven said nothing, just reached out and put his hand on her arm for a moment to direct her around a lamppost.

“My fault. I’m such an idiot,” Anna muttered to herself.

They walked in silence for a moment, then just as they reached her door, Sven said “Look, Kris is a decent guy. I’m sure whatever happened, it’s already forgotten.”

Anna just nodded, said “Thanks,” and went inside.

* * *

She’d thought she’d felt bad when he’d been unobtainable. But now - she’d never been rejected so firmly, so completely, so politely. _I don’t think so._ There was nothing to do but cry herself to sleep, then lie in her bed all morning feeling sorry for herself, then scrub her face clean while crying in the shower, then lie on the sofa all afternoon crying into the cushions.

His smile, in the kitchen at the start of the evening. She’d let herself believe in it, load it with significance when it was just a smile for a friend. An acquaintance. Someone who kept turning up at the same social events as he did so he had to be polite. And she’d made a fool of herself, a complete and utter fool, and now he probably thought she was ridiculous and she’d never be able to look him in the eye again. No more smiles. She didn’t deserve them.

 


	2. Kristoff

He can’t remember when he met her, but he can remember the first time he saw her.  The first time he saw her properly.

Kristoff usually went round to Sven’s alone, because Maria didn’t like Sven, and Sven didn’t like Maria. Which was - not ideal. After the first few attempts, Kristoff found it easier to see them separately. And once Jessica moved in, the entertaining stepped up a gear, and a whole new cast of people were introduced into Kristoff’s social circle.

He’d mentally filed Anna with the rest of Jess’s friends, and vaguely thought she was cute in a button-nose sort of way, but hadn’t given her much thought beyond that. She seemed nice. Whatever.

Until a couple of weeks later. He’d arrived at the house and gone through into the living room, where music was playing, and Anna was there, alone and dancing. He’d hesitated in the doorway, not wanting to embarrass her by walking in - she was really throwing down some moves - but when she saw him she just smiled and said “Hi, Kris!”.

There were times when one could only resort to cliches. If your heart really skipped a beat, that would be catastrophic. No one actually got struck by a thunderbolt, or at least not while standing in a perfectly normal living room. And falling into someone’s eyes was, frankly, impossible.

Nevertheless.

Anna didn’t notice, or he assumed she didn’t. Kristoff mumbled a ‘Hi,’ then retreated to the kitchen as quickly as he could.

* * *

He managed to avoid her for the rest of the evening, while repeating ‘you have a girlfriend, you have a girlfriend’ to himself over and over. He tried texting Maria but she was out somewhere with her friends and too busy to reply more than a couple of times.

He didn't believe in love at first sight, he absolutely didn’t. How can you fall in love with someone without getting to know them? He knew it was perfectly possible to be attracted to someone on first sight; that’s how he felt about Maria, certainly, and then he got to know her, and now they were together.

But. Fuck. How had he never noticed Anna’s eyes before? The way she tucked her hair behind her ear? Her  _ smile _ , for crying out loud. How dare it light up the room like that. He was sure that last time he’d been around her, whenever that was, he’d been able to ignore her.

Or pay her the normal amount of attention. What was the normal amount? Fuck.

“A little bird told me,” Sven said, suddenly at his elbow halfway through the next week’s Eurovision party, “That a  _ certain redhead _ was making enquiries as to your relationship status.”

“You’re such a fucking gossip,” Kristoff said, trying to ignore the jolt of adrenaline. What did it matter if Anna wanted to know if he was single. He didn’t care.

Sven shrugged.

“I hope you told her I have a girlfriend,” Kristoff said, because he did. He absolutely, definitely had a girlfriend, and she was the woman he loved.

“It was Jess she was talking to, not me, but yes. Though personally I think it’s hilarious that we see so little of your girlfriend that Anna doesn’t even know you have one.”

Kristoff rolled his eyes.

“Always nice to know you’ve got options, though, isn’t it, mate,” Sven said cheerfully. Kristoff ignored him.

* * *

“I went to Sven’s,” was all he said to Maria. What did it matter if there were other people there, too.

* * *

_ pub quiz 2moz, u in _

 

just us?

 

_ idk jess invited sum ppl _

_ should have a decent team _

 

idk if I want to go drinking with you on a school night

 

_ come on itll be a laff _

_ queens head @7 _

 

_ tims coming, and katie _

_ oh and anna  _

* * *

She was there, and she sat opposite him. And  _ if  _ he’d been a single man, and  _ if _ he’d been looking, he would definitely have been reading things into the way she caught his eye whenever he looked up, then bit her lip and looked away. The expression on her face when he put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention at the bar.

He wished he could talk to Sven about all this. But Sven had never liked Maria, and Kristoff knew exactly what his advice would be.  _ Jesus, Kristoff, you’re not married to her. You don’t even live together. If you’d rather be with someone else, dump her and get on with it.  _

He didn’t want to be that kind of boyfriend, though, that kind of man. Jumping ship as soon as something new and shiny came along. It was just a little crush. The important thing was to do nothing about it, let it pass, try to forget that jolt of energy that had nearly knocked him off his feet when she met his eyes. It would pass.

* * *

 

“I need another man,” Jessica called through from the kitchen.

“At least come in here and say that to my face, woman,” Sven said from the sofa.

“For my dinner party.” Jessica came to the living room door, holding a piece of paper. “I’ve three women and two men - Alison and Tim are  _ perfect  _ for each other, and I’ll put Anna with Ranj, he’s her type, don’t you think? But I need someone for Sue.”

“Cancel Sue, then.”

“No no no - you must know _ somebody _ .”

“I thought you were matching them all up carefully.”

“Well, obviously I mean someone half-decent.”

“See, now you’re putting all these ridiculous limitations - oh! Of course! Kristoff.”

“Kristoff?”

“He’s at least a quarter-decent. And he broke up with what’s-her-face, finally. I’ll give him a bell.”

“He’ll say no.”

“Nah, he won’t. Time he got out and met someone nice.”

“After a week?”

“Exactly. That’s ages.”

* * *

 

Kristoff had broken up with Maria before, of course, or rather, she’d broken up with him. Half a dozen times, at least. Was this the one that would stick? Maybe. It felt different, somehow.

It hadn’t been one big argument that caused it, that was the thing. It was weeks of - niggles.  _ You never used to go out this much. Who else is going to be there? I seem to be hearing THAT name a lot recently.  _ Then the big argument. Maria thought he was interested in someone else, if not actually cheating on her, and he knew his denials rang hollow. So that was that.

Was he relieved? Resigned? He didn’t know. He didn’t know what he wanted to do about it, if anything.

Anna. He was allowed to think about Anna now, as much as he wanted. That was something. But now he was allowed to, would he still want to? He couldn’t untangle it in his mind. The grass is always greener, and all that. 

He did know he didn’t want to go to Jessica’s dinner party. But while he had no problem with telling Sven to fuck off, he couldn’t say that to Jessica.

* * *

“Well, I didn’t have high hopes for Anna,” Jessica said. “Because Anna is madly in love with someone, but she won’t tell me  _ who _ .”

Everyone went quiet. Kristoff would have expected Anna to laugh it off, but instead she had frozen, face burning red. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“Alright, you’ve had enough,” Sven said, taking Jessica’s glass away. “Sorry, Anna.”   
“It’s okay,” Anna muttered. She was still looking down, then suddenly she looked up and directly at Kristoff, and for a brief second he could see it all in her eyes. He stared back, dumb, until she looked away.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” Jessica said. “You know what, I’m just going to - check something in the kitchen. Sven, could you help me, please.” She left, and after a second Sven followed her, looking confused.

Anna drained her glass and put it down on the coffee table. Kristoff cursed his friends and tried to think of something to say.

I mean, Jessica hadn’t actually meant ‘madly in love with’, had she? She’d just meant, fancied. Had a bit of a crush on. Jess got a bit OTT when she’d been drinking. Well, they’d all been drinking; better tread carefully and avoid anything that might be regretted tomorrow.

“Anna,” he said, meaning to say something reassuring, something to defuse the awkwardness in the room. But before he could work out what that would be, Anna had stood, walked over to him and climbed into his lap.

He could let her. He could pull her into his arms, and let her kiss him, and kiss  _ her _ , and see if it was the same as he’d dreamed it would be, all those times when he’d tried not to imagine it. It would be so easy. 

Too easy. That was it, it felt  _ too _ easy, almost facile, to have the thing he wanted most - the thing he had been longing for for so long - literally fall into his lap. And she’d been drinking.  _ Not like this. _

Before she could break his resolve, Kristoff put his hands on her hips and stood her back on her feet as gently as he could. Anna stumbled, and looked at him, puzzled.

“I don’t think so,” was all he could think of to say.

“What?”

“I don’t think so, Anna,” then before he could add “You’re drunk,” Jessica and Sven had come back in the room and Anna was grabbing her things and running out.

After her departure Kristoff’s friends both turned to him. “What did you do?” Sven said.

“I - nothing. I swear.”

“Okay, what did  _ she  _ do?”

“Nothing - she’s a bit worse for wear, I think - forget it. Nothing happened.”

“Did she accidentally flash you or something?” Sven said.

“Sven, go after her,” Jessica said. “Make sure she gets home okay.”

“Oh, yes, sure.” He left, and Jessica raised her eyebrows at Kristoff. 

“I’m not going to gossip about a lady,” he said, hoping to deflect her.

“So something  _ did _ happen.”

“Jess.”

She sat next to him on the sofa. “Should I have put you guys together?”

“For the dinner?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe I didn’t notice - I’d never have put you two together, not in a million years, but now I think about it…”

“Well, there you go.” He looked down at his hands.

“Give her a call tomorrow. It’ll be fine, you’ll sort it out.”

“I don’t have her number.”

“Do you want it?...no, I’d better ask her first. I’ll ask her.”

The front door opened and shut and Sven came in. “Christ, mate, what did you do?” he said. “She was in a right state.”

“Did you see her home?” Jessica said.

“‘Course. What did you do?” he said again.

“I panicked,” Kristoff said, standing up and walking to the door. “I fucking panicked, that’s all.”

  
  



	3. Together

But as Anna lay on the sofa disconsolately that Sunday evening, her phone beeped. It was Jessica.

_ oh btw i gave kris your number hope thats ok _

Anna scowled at her phone. Rude! I mean, if she wanted Kristoff to have her number, she would give it to him herself. Gladly. Or up until last night she would have. Ugh, now he would ring and be really nice and explain how he really liked her as a friend, and he was happy to forget everything that had happened, and he hoped he’d see her soon, but in a friend way. And she’d be forced to see him and pretend everything was cool while secretly dying inside. So she wouldn’t be able to go to Sven and Jessica’s  _ ever again _ and she’d have to make all new friends and everything would be stupid and terrible and all because she couldn’t control herself and gave into every immediate instinct like a TODDLER or a, a GOAT.

The phone rang. An unknown mobile number. Anna jumped and dropped it on the floor.

It lay there, on its back, ringing. Oh god. Oh god oh god.  _ Just answer it, woman, it’s probably a PPI spam call. _

“Hello?”

“Ah, hi, Anna?”

It was him, oh god. Oh no oh no oh no. “Hi, Kris? I mean I guess this is Kris, Jessica just texted and said she gave you my number, which is fine, I just - um. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Ah. I - Anna, I wanted to apologise for last night. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you -”

“It’s - it’s okay! I should be apologising, and I am, I’m apologising. I’m the one who made everything awkward, I’d really like to just forget it. Pretend it never happened. I was drunk, I’m sorry.”

“Pretend it never happened?”

“Please. We’re friends, it’s cool.”

There was a pause. Then Kristoff said, “Well, this is awkward.”

“I guess…”

“No, I mean….” he cleared his throat. “Because the other reason I phoned you was to ask you out.”

“....what?”

“It has been explained to me,” he said, “At great length, over the course of this afternoon, that I am an idiot, and if I like you and you like me then we should spend some time just the two of us, to - explore that further. And that sounded about right to me, once Sven had finished his harangue, so I was wondering if you wanted to go to the festival thing in the park with me next weekend. There’s live bands and food stalls and things. I mean, if you want to. If I’m not being even more of an idiot.”

“....Sven spent a whole afternoon calling you an idiot and telling you to ask me out?”

“Except for when Jessica was doing it, yeah. You should probably know that they’re pretty invested in this. You haven’t actually answered.”

“No. I mean, no I haven’t, but yes. Yes, please.”

“Okay!” She could hear the relief in his voice. “That’s - awesome. Cool. Okay, I’ll check the times and call you later in the week, okay?”

“Okay, great. Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Bye, then. Anna.”

“Bye,” she almost whispered, and the line went dead as he ended the call.

Anna sat for a moment, her phone in her hands. Then she shook herself, and saved his number carefully to her contacts, and went to text Jessica and tell her - but no. Not straight away. She would let herself sit here for a moment, for one perfect moment, enjoying this feeling. Before she undoubtedly did something to muck it up again.

* * *

Her phone rang again about twenty minutes later.

“Soooo? Did he ask you out?”

“Jess!”

“Well, did he?”

“As if you don’t know.”

Jessica laughed. “I was just worried he’d bottle it. Sven practically had to threaten him.”

“That makes me feel great, thanks.”

“Oh, no, he wanted to! He was just all, what if she doesn’t want to talk to me, what if she says no, won’t it make everything awkward, and I was like, I got the impression everything was already awkward? But anyway. He did, so. He’s a good boy really.”

“Mm.”

“So, what are you going to wear?”

“I don’t know! He like literally JUST called. Oh no, I have to decide what do wear….what if I do something stupid. Like say something stupid. Or, or I spill my drink all over myself, or something, and he changes his mind about me, and -”

“What do you mean? Don’t be ridiculous. Anyway. He’s definitely seen you spill a drink on yourself before.”

“...um. Maybe?”

“Yes, you remember, it was only a couple of weeks ago and he was definitely there - and that time at the barbecue, when you took a bite of your burger and got ketchup all down your front - and at the mini golf, when you tripped over your club and fell over and skinned your knees, and we were all trying to give you tissues and things and you were insisting you were fine with blood running all down onto your socks -”

“WHY are we doing this?”

“I’m just saying - he’s seen all these things and he still asked you out. So I’m not sure what you could do to put him off, unless you were planning on being, like, WILDLY racist or something - oh, Anna, do you remember when someone made you laugh when you were eating Doritos and you choked and some went up your nose and then you blew your nose and it was all orange -”

“I’m a disaster human, I know, everyone apparently knows, please stop now.”

“Sorry. I’m stopping. But, isn’t it nice to go out with someone who already knows you this well? And wants to be with you anyway?”

“Rude.” But she had to admit, it  _ was _ nice.

 

* * *

He felt - not broken, exactly, but - raw. Bruised. After Maria, part of him wanted to crawl away into a corner and lick his wounds, wait for everything to heal, wait to feel normal again, whatever normal felt like.

But.

If he waited, he’d miss her, he was certain of that. She was so - everything she was, and someone else would see it, soon enough. Sven had gone on at length about striking while the iron was hot and Kristoff knew he was right even as he wished for a little more time.

* * *

The annual Arundel Summer Festival was in the park. Anna met Kristoff at the gates at four, or close enough to four, after she’d tried on every outfit she owned, and put her hair up and taken it down and put it half-up; and her sandals were super-pretty but also they rubbed if, for example, you had to run halfway across town because you were nearly late for a date you were super-excited about. But she was here now. 

He was wearing a shirt, was the first thing she noticed. Not a t-shirt, a shirt with buttons, and jeans that looked suspiciously new. He’d brushed his hair, and he had a picnic blanket rolled up under his arm.

“I thought we could go listen to the music for a bit,” he said, “Then maybe get something to eat, there’s a lot of stalls - and there’s bands into the evening, I think, but we don’t have to stay the whole time, it’s up to you -”

“That sounds good! Great.”

“Great.” They beamed at each other.

Anna had been so worried it would be awkward, or she would make it awkward again somehow, but after the first little while everything  _ was _ great. They sat on the picnic blanket - while on the stage a school band played a medley of musical theatre tunes that was actually pretty good - and talked. Then they walked round the food stalls and couldn’t decide what to eat so took a few things back to their blanket to share, and if Anna did nearly choke on a piece of naan because Kristoff made her laugh at the wrong moment then that was the kind of thing that could happen to anyone. A couple of times Anna got inquisitive texts but she ignored them. Jessica could wait.

Kristoff came back from putting the remains of their meal in the bin and sat down on the blanket next to her, leaning back on his hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this relaxed on a date before,” he said, then hesitated as if afraid he’d given too much away.

“Me neither. Must be the music,” Anna said, nodding towards the stage where some men with guitars were doing a sound check. Kristoff laughed.

He was so close. He was leaning right towards her, and his smile was slowly fading to be replaced with a look of almost wonder, almost - she didn’t know what; his eyes went to her lips then back up, and her heartbeat was almost drowning out the words  _ kiss me kiss me kiss me kiss me  _ chanting in her head. 

He bent his head down, leaning in, and the anticipation was delicious but also she was going to scream with the effort of not leaping forward and pinning him down. She closed her eyes instead, feeling his breath on her lips before, finally, gently, slowly, he kissed her.

_ Now  _ she let herself push forward. Now she ran her hand over his shoulder and to the back of his neck, as he kissed her again, more assuredly this time. 

He was so close, and he smelt so nice, and Anna longed to pull him down onto the blanket next to her - on top of her - and...

...and get thrown out of the Arundel Summer Festival for indecent, non-family-friendly behaviour, that was what. Anna couldn’t help it, she started giggling, and Kristoff pulled away. “What?” he said, smiling.

“Nothing,” Anna said. “Just happy, that’s all. The kiss was nice,” she added. “You can do that again if you want.”

So he did.


End file.
